ModNation Racers (PlayStation 3 only) is the first truly worthy successor to Super Mario Kart. That 1992 Nintendo release forever changed the racing genre by focusing not only on the dash to the finish line, but also on cutesy characters and powerups. Super Mario Kart's success sparked a number of clones of varying quality (Crash Nitro Kart, Diddy Kong Racing DS, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing), but ModNation Racers ($59.99 street) is the first son of Super Mario Kart to surpass it. How? By allowing PS3 gamers to meticulously customize not only the kart racers, but the tracks as welland to share them online.

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Load Times and Mod Spot
Pop the Modnation Racers disc into the PlayStation 3 and you encounter the game's one major negative: lengthy load times. It took over 5 minutes for the game to complete a mandatory install, and over 30 seconds to start a match (which proves frustrating when moving between the different game modes). Developer United Front Games has a stated that it's working on a patch that would shorten these timesI hope it comes soon.

Impatient types, don't give up: the game is definitely worth the wait. ModNation Racers' Mod Spot, the central hub by which you access the various game options, is your gateway to racing happiness. I drove one of the default racers (known as Mods) around the Mod Spot, an outdoor mall-like area that lets you access the various game options by parking in the designated spot outside of each option. For example, parking outside the multi-player portal let me jump online to battle it out with other racers in surprisingly lag-free battle. Motoring to other areas of the Mod Spot let me play local split screen vs. a friend, and engage in both individual races and the rich, story-driven career mode.

Gameplay and Controls
Players accustomed to other kart racers will feel mostly at home here, but ModNation Racers control scheme is deeper than the traditional casual kart racer. There are buttons for accelerating, braking, drifting, boosting, activating shields, and firing the upgradable weapons you collect (these range from missiles to sonic attacks and lightning strikes).

Drifting is a vital part of the gameplay, so mastering it is essential. Drifting, you see, builds your boost meter (used to unleash speed boosts), which is important for the constant position jockeying you'll be engaged in as you speed toward the finish line. In addition, wisely utilizing your shields to nullify the effects of incoming weapons (which you can see on the head's up display) is also essential to finishing at the front of the pack. Hardcore players will appreciate the ability to draft, which allows you to slipstream behind a lead car for a speed burst, and then overtake the racer to jump a position.

Tracks are peppered with items, some useful, some not so much. The most beneficial are ramps that send you airborne (spinning the right analog stick while in the air causes your Mod to do tricks that also build your boost meter), and boost pads that grant a quick speed burst. There are less racer-friendly items on the tracks, too. In one memorable instance, I was heading toward the end of a lap, I put the pedal to the metal as I approached a crate, thinking that it would reveal a weapon that I could use to take out a Mod in front of me. The result? Crashing into it sent me careening off the road.

Modding Racers, Cars, and Tracks
Completing levels and beating specific challenges (finishing in a certain position, or beating one of the game's Elite Racers who's challenged you to a one-on-one match) unlocks additional content to use in the game's creation tools. Thankfully, the creation process is dead simple to use. Track creation features auto-completion and auto-population that allows the AI to intelligently place weapons, boost strips, and obstacles on the track within a few seconds timeperfect for when I wanted an original race strip, but didn't want to edit extensively. When I found time for a more hands-on approach, I was happy to see that I could alter just about everything in the environment; I added hills, pits, and bodies of water to the preset alpine theme (there are also desert, seaside, and jungle themes available for editing) using just the right analog stick, a few button presses, and my crazed imagination.

The customization extends to your racer and your vehicle. There were dozens upon dozens of eyes, mouths, masks, hats, shirts, pants, accessories, stickers, and colors that I could apply to my Mod, as well as a variety of body styles, wheels, hood ornaments, and stickers to apply to my ride. My Mod (creatively named JW) sported a lucha libre mask, bull horns, shadesand business attire from the neck down.

The PSP Version
ModNation Racer also comes to market as a portable PSP game. It may not possess the graphical prowess of the PS3 version, but it also doesn't possess the annoying load times. In hands-on time with the PSP version, I found it very similar to its big brother. The only downside is that you can't share created content between the two versions.

Verdict
Modnation Racers is hands-down the best kart racing game available for this generation of game consoles[link to console landing page]. As a pure racing game, it isn't revolutionary, but the deep customization options offer a constantly evolving gameplay experience that allows gamer to race with fresh tracks, rides, and characters every time they fire up their PlayStation 3 consoles. The heavy load time is a consequence of all the data being loaded into the system; hopefully, the promised patch will fix the problem soon. If you love kart racing and want an experience far deeper than what Mario Kart provides, this game is a must-have.

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About the Author

For more than a decade, Jeffrey L. Wilson has penned gadget- and video game-related nerd-copy for a variety of publications, including 1UP, 2D-X, The Cask, Laptop, LifeStyler, Parenting, Sync, Wise Bread, and WWE. He now brings his knowledge and skillset to PCMag as Senior Analyst.
When he isn't staring at a monitor (or two) and churning out Web... See Full Bio

ModNation Racers

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